Ferrisjso wrote: I also worked for Bernie up in New Hampshire and got to go to the victory speech, which was the happiest moment of my life!

I feel like you should follow this passion. Seriously. Coming from someone who wishes he did when he was 22.

Go get a Hill job and dip into that world for awhile if you want something more stable than campaigns.

Out of curiosity how would I go about doing that?(there's a limited amount of congressmen even Democrats who would approve of my Social Media history). I am considering bailing on LS(again purely due to finances unless I can get some familal guarantees of assistance) and having a potential alternative in place would be great.

Tbh, I don't know because I never pursued that path and only looked into it as part of an internship for school credit (didn't end up doing it). Some other people can probably chime in.Doesn't hurt to apply though.

Also regarding bolded, I'd probably get rid of that shit regardless if it's that offputting. That stuff can come back to bite you when you least expect it ESPECIALLY if you want to enter the public eye. I personally wouldn't want anything questionable out there about me floating around. There's power in keeping things to yourself. But do what you wish.

Ferrisjso wrote: I also worked for Bernie up in New Hampshire and got to go to the victory speech, which was the happiest moment of my life!

I feel like you should follow this passion. Seriously. Coming from someone who wishes he did when he was 22.

Go get a Hill job and dip into that world for awhile if you want something more stable than campaigns.

Out of curiosity how would I go about doing that?(there's a limited amount of congressmen even Democrats who would approve of my Social Media history). I am considering bailing on LS(again purely due to finances unless I can get some familal guarantees of assistance) and having a potential alternative in place would be great.

Tbh, I don't know because I never pursued that path and only looked into it as part of an internship for school credit (didn't end up doing it). Some other people can probably chime in.Doesn't hurt to apply though.

Also regarding bolded, I'd probably get rid of that shit regardless if it's that offputting. That stuff can come back to bite you when you least expect it ESPECIALLY if you want to enter the public eye. I personally wouldn't want anything questionable out there about me floating around. There's power in keeping things to yourself. But do what you wish.

I can answer this. I have worked in DC politics for 3 years (and worked full time on Obama's campaign in 2012 as a field organizer). You get a job on the Hill by fully committing to do anything possible to get it. DC is the most educated city in the country, everyone is extremely qualified, smart and ambitious. There are 100s of people willing to work 60 hours a week for $25k as a staff assistant answering phones. What that means? You need to move to DC and hustle. You almost always need to be an unpaid intern on the Hill before getting a job (especially straight out of undergrad). Show up to that internship early, stay late, and do the best work there. People will notice. DC is a tough city, but one of the things I love about it is that it is people that work hard and do good work get ahead here. People are promoted quickly and can be managing large amounts of people at a young age if they show that they merit that responsibility.

I am not saying this to try to deter him, because if he wants to work in national politics like he keeps saying, there are really only two routes. Either get a Hill job (which you can do if you really put some effort into it), or work on a campaign (I explained earlier how to do this).

Ferrisjso, if you really want to make political work a reality and want more info, pm me and I would be happy to talk about DC life and how to get your name out there. I cannot stress enough how many of my coworkers in DC wish they never got a JD. They all had the same thought as you. They thought a JD and politics work hand in hand. Truth is, it is totally unnecessary to advance in this city (unless you actually want to work as a lawyer). They tell me all the time that they are mad they spent three years getting an extremely expensive degree, when they could have had a cheaper degree in two years doing night classes (and still making money/advancing their careers). That two year degree (MPP/MPA) gets them the exact same opportunities.

A. Nony Mouse wrote:It is true that a master's in history without a PhD really doesn't help you out much at all. In theory it can help you in getting high school teaching positions, but in public schools you'll still need to get certification and private schools are super competitive even for people with MAs. Otherwise, it's not going to translate into any particular kind of employment.

Why would any District hire a person with 0 experience with a Master's Degree over a person with 0 experience with jut a Bachelor's Degree? They gotta pay the person with a Master's more money.

A. Nony Mouse wrote:It is true that a master's in history without a PhD really doesn't help you out much at all. In theory it can help you in getting high school teaching positions, but in public schools you'll still need to get certification and private schools are super competitive even for people with MAs. Otherwise, it's not going to translate into any particular kind of employment.

Why would any District hire a person with 0 experience with a Master's Degree over a person with 0 experience with jut a Bachelor's Degree? They gotta pay the person with a Master's more money.

In public schools, that's often the case, though less so in rich/good districts.

Ferrisjso wrote: (which is another reason PD/DA is so appealing to me, you have winning/losing percentages and it's a job where you can measure how well you're doing etc which is something that college addicted me to).

I know I can't really say this in a way that's going to be convincing, but this kind of attitude tends to lead to a lot of unhappiness. You're putting your self worth in external matters you can't entirely control. It's not very healthy and it tends to do a fair amount of damage in the long run. I say this as someone who did put all my self worth into succeeding at my job due to succeeding a lot throughout school and not really knowing how else to value myself, and who had to deal with working through all that.

Also, re: "I'm afraid I'm going to like it too much and lose my ambition" - that attitude also seems really disturbing to me. If you find a job that you like and a life that you like and it doesn't look like what you think it should right now, what's wrong with that? If the ambition is really something you want to do, you will want to do it regardless. If your desire for a particular path wanes, it's probably because that's not the right career path for you.

I realize I'm not being at all articulate here and again, I know there's no way to make this really convincing when that's your current mindset, but I don't think these are good bases for making serious life decisions.

Ferrisjso wrote: I also worked for Bernie up in New Hampshire and got to go to the victory speech, which was the happiest moment of my life!

I feel like you should follow this passion. Seriously. Coming from someone who wishes he did when he was 22.

Go get a Hill job and dip into that world for awhile if you want something more stable than campaigns.

Out of curiosity how would I go about doing that?(there's a limited amount of congressmen even Democrats who would approve of my Social Media history). I am considering bailing on LS(again purely due to finances unless I can get some familal guarantees of assistance) and having a potential alternative in place would be great.

Tbh, I don't know because I never pursued that path and only looked into it as part of an internship for school credit (didn't end up doing it). Some other people can probably chime in.Doesn't hurt to apply though.

Also regarding bolded, I'd probably get rid of that shit regardless if it's that offputting. That stuff can come back to bite you when you least expect it ESPECIALLY if you want to enter the public eye. I personally wouldn't want anything questionable out there about me floating around. There's power in keeping things to yourself. But do what you wish.

I can answer this. I have worked in DC politics for 3 years (and worked full time on Obama's campaign in 2012 as a field organizer). You get a job on the Hill by fully committing to do anything possible to get it. DC is the most educated city in the country, everyone is extremely qualified, smart and ambitious. There are 100s of people willing to work 60 hours a week for $25k as a staff assistant answering phones. What that means? You need to move to DC and hustle. You almost always need to be an unpaid intern on the Hill before getting a job (especially straight out of undergrad). Show up to that internship early, stay late, and do the best work there. People will notice. DC is a tough city, but one of the things I love about it is that it is people that work hard and do good work get ahead here. People are promoted quickly and can be managing large amounts of people at a young age if they show that they merit that responsibility.

I am not saying this to try to deter him, because if he wants to work in national politics like he keeps saying, there are really only two routes. Either get a Hill job (which you can do if you really put some effort into it), or work on a campaign (I explained earlier how to do this).

Ferrisjso, if you really want to make political work a reality and want more info, pm me and I would be happy to talk about DC life and how to get your name out there. I cannot stress enough how many of my coworkers in DC wish they never got a JD. They all had the same thought as you. They thought a JD and politics work hand in hand. Truth is, it is totally unnecessary to advance in this city (unless you actually want to work as a lawyer). They tell me all the time that they are mad they spent three years getting an extremely expensive degree, when they could have had a cheaper degree in two years doing night classes (and still making money/advancing their careers). That two year degree (MPP/MPA) gets them the exact same opportunities.

Politics in DC? It isn't easy, and when you start out it is really tough. However, I don't know any jobs that allow the upward mobility at a pace that political jobs do. By year five you can be a legislative director, press secretary, director of public affairs, etc.

Of course, there are a lot of people that cannot cut it and are bad at their jobs. They will meander around low level, shitty jobs for a lot longer. That is mainly because they don't put in the work and are bad at networking. Since Ferris wants to be a politician, the networking part should be no issue (if it is change goals).

Politics in DC? It isn't easy, and when you start out it is really tough. However, I don't know any jobs that allow the upward mobility at a pace that political jobs do. By year five you can be a legislative director, press secretary, director of public affairs, etc.

Of course, there are a lot of people that cannot cut it and are bad at their jobs. They will meander around low level, shitty jobs for a lot longer. That is mainly because they don't put in the work and are bad at networking. Since Ferris wants to be a politician, the networking part should be no issue (if it is change goals).

How many people make that climb roughly speaking? Is it the same as UConn Law students who get BigLaw?

Politics in DC? It isn't easy, and when you start out it is really tough. However, I don't know any jobs that allow the upward mobility at a pace that political jobs do. By year five you can be a legislative director, press secretary, director of public affairs, etc.

Of course, there are a lot of people that cannot cut it and are bad at their jobs. They will meander around low level, shitty jobs for a lot longer. That is mainly because they don't put in the work and are bad at networking. Since Ferris wants to be a politician, the networking part should be no issue (if it is change goals).

How many people make that climb roughly speaking? Is it the same as UConn Law students who get BigLaw?

That's hard to say, there aren't exactly good statistics of it. I will say that of my friends that moved to D.C., all are employed. All are past the first shitty level of internships/jobs and are in mid-level positions. They aren't running anything yet, but they are making it. Of course this is all anecdotal.

Just had conversation with my parents regarding finances, it did not go well. When I brought up the idea of moving to CT minus the law school they were like "that's unrealistic" and mocked me endlessly don't want to sell the house even though before they indicated they would if I left NY and this time made other vague promises of waiting until law school was over. I explained the concept of accruing interest during law school and the bar period countless times and how the first year at UCONN would have massively more interest that would grow the most and they just can't seem to grasp the concept. They want me to go to QU despite it costing 70k and think UCONN and QU are the same and don't understand why I put so much stock into what strangers online say. I'm really deflated and leaning towards not going to LS. I've been aiming for this for three years and I really don't know what's going to happen next if i don't. Congratulations to Cavalier, Game and the retake gang. Do not quote please I want to delete this post in a day or so when everyone's read it, don't want my business all over the place.

FYI if I was willing to stay in NY, I'd be going to Cardozo and I'd even go as far as to say it's a really good option but I just can't do it.

Last edited by Ferrisjso on Mon Apr 03, 2017 12:00 am, edited 1 time in total.

Sorry to hear. Good luck with whatever you choose. Things will work themselves out. If you're not gonna go then get busy on applying to jobs. It's a tough spot to be in graduating college in a major without great career options and facing uncertainty. But it's not hopeless. Check if there are any campus wide career fairs, see what other people in your major are doing, browse job postings.

I mean you can still do it without your parents. I don't really think you should at this point in time, but you can if you really want to.

Their assets aren't liquid so you probably wouldnt have had the money for the fall anyways. It's good you had a talk with them though so you're not relying on something that might not have came through.

I know this isnt what you want to hear right now, but in time youll look back on this as one of the best decisions youve ever made. It takes a lot of courage to walk away from committed plans. I applaud you, genuinely.

Finding employment will be tough but youll land something, and youll do it without masive debt hanging over your head. If you decide you still want law school you can study, retake and reapply. When you come back with a new decision thread, youll be choosing between options you never thought possible.

Ferrisjso wrote: I also worked for Bernie up in New Hampshire and got to go to the victory speech, which was the happiest moment of my life!

I feel like you should follow this passion. Seriously. Coming from someone who wishes he did when he was 22.

Go get a Hill job and dip into that world for awhile if you want something more stable than campaigns.

Out of curiosity how would I go about doing that?(there's a limited amount of congressmen even Democrats who would approve of my Social Media history). I am considering bailing on LS(again purely due to finances unless I can get some familal guarantees of assistance) and having a potential alternative in place would be great.

Tbh, I don't know because I never pursued that path and only looked into it as part of an internship for school credit (didn't end up doing it). Some other people can probably chime in.Doesn't hurt to apply though.

Also regarding bolded, I'd probably get rid of that shit regardless if it's that offputting. That stuff can come back to bite you when you least expect it ESPECIALLY if you want to enter the public eye. I personally wouldn't want anything questionable out there about me floating around. There's power in keeping things to yourself. But do what you wish.

I can answer this. I have worked in DC politics for 3 years (and worked full time on Obama's campaign in 2012 as a field organizer). You get a job on the Hill by fully committing to do anything possible to get it. DC is the most educated city in the country, everyone is extremely qualified, smart and ambitious. There are 100s of people willing to work 60 hours a week for $25k as a staff assistant answering phones. What that means? You need to move to DC and hustle. You almost always need to be an unpaid intern on the Hill before getting a job (especially straight out of undergrad). Show up to that internship early, stay late, and do the best work there. People will notice. DC is a tough city, but one of the things I love about it is that it is people that work hard and do good work get ahead here. People are promoted quickly and can be managing large amounts of people at a young age if they show that they merit that responsibility.

I am not saying this to try to deter him, because if he wants to work in national politics like he keeps saying, there are really only two routes. Either get a Hill job (which you can do if you really put some effort into it), or work on a campaign (I explained earlier how to do this).

Ferrisjso, if you really want to make political work a reality and want more info, pm me and I would be happy to talk about DC life and how to get your name out there. I cannot stress enough how many of my coworkers in DC wish they never got a JD. They all had the same thought as you. They thought a JD and politics work hand in hand. Truth is, it is totally unnecessary to advance in this city (unless you actually want to work as a lawyer). They tell me all the time that they are mad they spent three years getting an extremely expensive degree, when they could have had a cheaper degree in two years doing night classes (and still making money/advancing their careers). That two year degree (MPP/MPA) gets them the exact same opportunities.

First of all, I would maintain a pretty limited social media presence. Learn to effectively manage accounts for others, but not your own. It's too easy for stuff to come up a bite you later.

When I started out working at a lobbying firm in D.C. out of undergrad - only stayed there for a fairly short time - the firm had a practice of hiring "interns" and then renewing them on a monthly basis after the first initial three months; the supervisor would tell you whether you were renewed for an additional month on the last day of the month. I got the position because the prior intern - who had worked there for nearly a year - had moved up after his director had left. He had a full law degree from U Maryland and I'm sure that he was only making high $30s to low $40s.

My advice would be to start on the low-end of the totem pole on the Hill and slowly build some solid allies and advocates. You can probably skip law school if being a political operator is your primary interest. Quite honestly, my sense is that a lot of work on the Hill - I've never worked on the Hill myself but I have done political advocacy work - is much more closely related to public relations and marketing than real analysis of issues, let alone legal analysis.

Ferrisjso wrote: I also worked for Bernie up in New Hampshire and got to go to the victory speech, which was the happiest moment of my life!

I feel like you should follow this passion. Seriously. Coming from someone who wishes he did when he was 22.

Go get a Hill job and dip into that world for awhile if you want something more stable than campaigns.

Out of curiosity how would I go about doing that?(there's a limited amount of congressmen even Democrats who would approve of my Social Media history). I am considering bailing on LS(again purely due to finances unless I can get some familal guarantees of assistance) and having a potential alternative in place would be great.

Tbh, I don't know because I never pursued that path and only looked into it as part of an internship for school credit (didn't end up doing it). Some other people can probably chime in.Doesn't hurt to apply though.

Also regarding bolded, I'd probably get rid of that shit regardless if it's that offputting. That stuff can come back to bite you when you least expect it ESPECIALLY if you want to enter the public eye. I personally wouldn't want anything questionable out there about me floating around. There's power in keeping things to yourself. But do what you wish.

I can answer this. I have worked in DC politics for 3 years (and worked full time on Obama's campaign in 2012 as a field organizer). You get a job on the Hill by fully committing to do anything possible to get it. DC is the most educated city in the country, everyone is extremely qualified, smart and ambitious. There are 100s of people willing to work 60 hours a week for $25k as a staff assistant answering phones. What that means? You need to move to DC and hustle. You almost always need to be an unpaid intern on the Hill before getting a job (especially straight out of undergrad). Show up to that internship early, stay late, and do the best work there. People will notice. DC is a tough city, but one of the things I love about it is that it is people that work hard and do good work get ahead here. People are promoted quickly and can be managing large amounts of people at a young age if they show that they merit that responsibility.

I am not saying this to try to deter him, because if he wants to work in national politics like he keeps saying, there are really only two routes. Either get a Hill job (which you can do if you really put some effort into it), or work on a campaign (I explained earlier how to do this).

Ferrisjso, if you really want to make political work a reality and want more info, pm me and I would be happy to talk about DC life and how to get your name out there. I cannot stress enough how many of my coworkers in DC wish they never got a JD. They all had the same thought as you. They thought a JD and politics work hand in hand. Truth is, it is totally unnecessary to advance in this city (unless you actually want to work as a lawyer). They tell me all the time that they are mad they spent three years getting an extremely expensive degree, when they could have had a cheaper degree in two years doing night classes (and still making money/advancing their careers). That two year degree (MPP/MPA) gets them the exact same opportunities.

Ferris this is exactly what many are trying to warn you about. 25K a year in DC is effectively unemployed for a JD holder. Clearly you don't need a 3 year professional degree to be a staffer answering phones. From a purely monetary perspective you would be making more (with overtime for the 60 hours work week) at any of the numerous and quite lovely McDonald's in the downtown DC area. The anecdotal advice offered here is valuable if you wish to pursue a bottom up political career. Hard work and dedication will take you a long way.

If you attend a law school with less than 50/50 job placement potential and run up a lot of debt your future will be impaired. I can't image how one can live in DC on 25k with student loan debt to pay but more power to them.

Ferrisjso wrote: I also worked for Bernie up in New Hampshire and got to go to the victory speech, which was the happiest moment of my life!

I feel like you should follow this passion. Seriously. Coming from someone who wishes he did when he was 22.

Go get a Hill job and dip into that world for awhile if you want something more stable than campaigns.

Out of curiosity how would I go about doing that?(there's a limited amount of congressmen even Democrats who would approve of my Social Media history). I am considering bailing on LS(again purely due to finances unless I can get some familal guarantees of assistance) and having a potential alternative in place would be great.

Tbh, I don't know because I never pursued that path and only looked into it as part of an internship for school credit (didn't end up doing it). Some other people can probably chime in.Doesn't hurt to apply though.

Also regarding bolded, I'd probably get rid of that shit regardless if it's that offputting. That stuff can come back to bite you when you least expect it ESPECIALLY if you want to enter the public eye. I personally wouldn't want anything questionable out there about me floating around. There's power in keeping things to yourself. But do what you wish.

I can answer this. I have worked in DC politics for 3 years (and worked full time on Obama's campaign in 2012 as a field organizer). You get a job on the Hill by fully committing to do anything possible to get it. DC is the most educated city in the country, everyone is extremely qualified, smart and ambitious. There are 100s of people willing to work 60 hours a week for $25k as a staff assistant answering phones. What that means? You need to move to DC and hustle. You almost always need to be an unpaid intern on the Hill before getting a job (especially straight out of undergrad). Show up to that internship early, stay late, and do the best work there. People will notice. DC is a tough city, but one of the things I love about it is that it is people that work hard and do good work get ahead here. People are promoted quickly and can be managing large amounts of people at a young age if they show that they merit that responsibility.

I am not saying this to try to deter him, because if he wants to work in national politics like he keeps saying, there are really only two routes. Either get a Hill job (which you can do if you really put some effort into it), or work on a campaign (I explained earlier how to do this).

Ferrisjso, if you really want to make political work a reality and want more info, pm me and I would be happy to talk about DC life and how to get your name out there. I cannot stress enough how many of my coworkers in DC wish they never got a JD. They all had the same thought as you. They thought a JD and politics work hand in hand. Truth is, it is totally unnecessary to advance in this city (unless you actually want to work as a lawyer). They tell me all the time that they are mad they spent three years getting an extremely expensive degree, when they could have had a cheaper degree in two years doing night classes (and still making money/advancing their careers). That two year degree (MPP/MPA) gets them the exact same opportunities.

Ferris this is exactly what many are trying to warn you about. 25K a year in DC is effectively unemployed for a JD holder. Clearly you don't need a 3 year professional degree to be a staffer answering phones. From a purely monetary perspective you would be making more (with overtime for the 60 hours work week) at any of the numerous and quite lovely McDonald's in the downtown DC area. The anecdotal advice offered here is valuable if you wish to pursue a bottom up political career. Hard work and dedication will take you a long way.

If you attend a law school with less than 50/50 job placement potential and run up a lot of debt your future will be impaired. I can't image how one can live in DC on 25k with student loan debt to pay but more power to them.

To be fair, I was being a bit hyperbolic. Most staff-assistant positions are more than $25k (not much more, but you will hit the low $30k at a lot of offices).

Political activism and participatory democracy make the world a better place. Congrats. However from the perspective of choosing to go to law school there is a different math, According to US News the median income of a paralegal is $52k and the median for a lawyer is $115k. These are the numbers required to even consider running up 200k in debt. I don't know anything about the start as a volunteer and work your way up political world, but coming to that world with 200k in debt seems like a real bad idea.

shadowfax wrote:Political activism and participatory democracy make the world a better place. Congrats. However from the perspective of choosing to go to law school there is a different math, According to US News the median income of a paralegal is $52k and the median for a lawyer is $115k. These are the numbers required to even consider running up 200k in debt. I don't know anything about the start as a volunteer and work your way up political world, but coming to that world with 200k in debt seems like a real bad idea.

Ferris isn't in 200k in debt yet. I think you're missing the point: he should avoid the unnecessary debt and just go straight into politics. He has commented multiple times about how frugally he can live. It doesn't seem like he would have any issues on that kind of salary for a year or two.

I think you're all over-estimating how much Ferris wants to go into politics. It sounds like he just wants a normal middle class life and has some vague idea down the road of running for office when he has more money. That's a lot different than wanting to work phone banks for free (or basically free) for a small chance of being a $75K legislative director down the road if he outguns all the other gunners in D.C.

Ferrisjso wrote: I also worked for Bernie up in New Hampshire and got to go to the victory speech, which was the happiest moment of my life!

I feel like you should follow this passion. Seriously. Coming from someone who wishes he did when he was 22.

Go get a Hill job and dip into that world for awhile if you want something more stable than campaigns.

Out of curiosity how would I go about doing that?(there's a limited amount of congressmen even Democrats who would approve of my Social Media history). I am considering bailing on LS(again purely due to finances unless I can get some familal guarantees of assistance) and having a potential alternative in place would be great.

Tbh, I don't know because I never pursued that path and only looked into it as part of an internship for school credit (didn't end up doing it). Some other people can probably chime in.Doesn't hurt to apply though.

Also regarding bolded, I'd probably get rid of that shit regardless if it's that offputting. That stuff can come back to bite you when you least expect it ESPECIALLY if you want to enter the public eye. I personally wouldn't want anything questionable out there about me floating around. There's power in keeping things to yourself. But do what you wish.

Most Hill entry level jobs come from internships. If you do well in a Congressional office job openings will come to you by word of mouth. The staffers are connected with each other in that way. There won't be job postings so you need to be there and have the connections. The best way to do this is to intern there.

Ferrisjso wrote: I also worked for Bernie up in New Hampshire and got to go to the victory speech, which was the happiest moment of my life!

I feel like you should follow this passion. Seriously. Coming from someone who wishes he did when he was 22.

Go get a Hill job and dip into that world for awhile if you want something more stable than campaigns.

Out of curiosity how would I go about doing that?(there's a limited amount of congressmen even Democrats who would approve of my Social Media history). I am considering bailing on LS(again purely due to finances unless I can get some familal guarantees of assistance) and having a potential alternative in place would be great.

Tbh, I don't know because I never pursued that path and only looked into it as part of an internship for school credit (didn't end up doing it). Some other people can probably chime in.Doesn't hurt to apply though.

Also regarding bolded, I'd probably get rid of that shit regardless if it's that offputting. That stuff can come back to bite you when you least expect it ESPECIALLY if you want to enter the public eye. I personally wouldn't want anything questionable out there about me floating around. There's power in keeping things to yourself. But do what you wish.

I can answer this. I have worked in DC politics for 3 years (and worked full time on Obama's campaign in 2012 as a field organizer). You get a job on the Hill by fully committing to do anything possible to get it. DC is the most educated city in the country, everyone is extremely qualified, smart and ambitious. There are 100s of people willing to work 60 hours a week for $25k as a staff assistant answering phones. What that means? You need to move to DC and hustle. You almost always need to be an unpaid intern on the Hill before getting a job (especially straight out of undergrad). Show up to that internship early, stay late, and do the best work there. People will notice. DC is a tough city, but one of the things I love about it is that it is people that work hard and do good work get ahead here. People are promoted quickly and can be managing large amounts of people at a young age if they show that they merit that responsibility.

I am not saying this to try to deter him, because if he wants to work in national politics like he keeps saying, there are really only two routes. Either get a Hill job (which you can do if you really put some effort into it), or work on a campaign (I explained earlier how to do this).

Ferrisjso, if you really want to make political work a reality and want more info, pm me and I would be happy to talk about DC life and how to get your name out there. I cannot stress enough how many of my coworkers in DC wish they never got a JD. They all had the same thought as you. They thought a JD and politics work hand in hand. Truth is, it is totally unnecessary to advance in this city (unless you actually want to work as a lawyer). They tell me all the time that they are mad they spent three years getting an extremely expensive degree, when they could have had a cheaper degree in two years doing night classes (and still making money/advancing their careers). That two year degree (MPP/MPA) gets them the exact same opportunities.

Ferris this is exactly what many are trying to warn you about. 25K a year in DC is effectively unemployed for a JD holder. Clearly you don't need a 3 year professional degree to be a staffer answering phones. From a purely monetary perspective you would be making more (with overtime for the 60 hours work week) at any of the numerous and quite lovely McDonald's in the downtown DC area. The anecdotal advice offered here is valuable if you wish to pursue a bottom up political career. Hard work and dedication will take you a long way.

If you attend a law school with less than 50/50 job placement potential and run up a lot of debt your future will be impaired. I can't image how one can live in DC on 25k with student loan debt to pay but more power to them.

To be fair, I was being a bit hyperbolic. Most staff-assistant positions are more than $25k (not much more, but you will hit the low $30k at a lot of offices).

34K was the rate in most run-of-the-mill Congressional offices. Think it is higher on the Senate side, but not by much. Promotions will happen and after after about 3-4 years you are looking at probably somewhere between 50-60k depending on office/boss' leadership position/congressperson's preference/etc. Then there is a steep shift and you won't make much more unless you go to a committee (not by a bunch more) or become a CoS or Deputy CoS. At this point many staffers leave to private practice because the connections are more valuable than their actual skills to private places or they go back to school while working or take a break to get a JD/Masters. They only do this AFTER they have connections to come back and advance, though.

Also, it's a lot of constituent calls and meetings with lobbyists. You're not generally writing legislation, there is an office for that, and you will be mainly reading over legislation and deciding whether your office member should vote on it or not. Often it's more of a political decision than a substantive one, but again, this can vary by office.

star fox wrote:I think you're all over-estimating how much Ferris wants to go into politics. It sounds like he just wants a normal middle class life and has some vague idea down the road of running for office when he has more money. That's a lot different than wanting to work phone banks for free (or basically free) for a small chance of being a $75K legislative director down the road if he outguns all the other gunners in D.C.

Yeah, I said I was interested in the idea but yeah it is far from what I've decided to do. I also haven't given up 100% on LS yet I still have my UCONN visit next week before I make my decision. First priority whether I go to LS or not is getting a drivers license from NY as quick as possible(because I can get a driver's license without having to go on a highway because in CT you apparently can't a license without driving on one). If I don't go to LS, finding a way to get a good job in CT /move to CT would be my next priority